Wednesday, August 5, 2015

This is what I wanted to write last week but
with my touring I just did not have the time.

6:1Now this is the commandment, the
statutes, and the ordinances, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you,
that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it—

The Pshat is the same as Parsha Bechukosai which reads
if you kept these commandments, statutes and ordinances then you will be
blessed in the land that you are about to possess. There it is written that one
must follow the Mitzvos but the meaning is the same.

2that
thou might fear the LORD thy God, to keep all His statutes and His
commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all
the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.

Fear and love of G-D is important not only to prolong
your days and guard your family in this world but also in the next world.

3Hear
therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and
that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD, the God of thy fathers, hath
promised unto thee--a land flowing with milk and honey.

We previously had a land flowing with milk and honey
and it is repeated here.

4Hear,
O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one.

Over the previous years I have brought down that the
Ayin of the Shema and the Dalet of Ehad make up the word Ayd or witness. This
year instead of the Kabalistic combinations and ruling over these four living things,
worlds, directions, forms of matter, types of angels, planets and
constellations etc. I want to just bring down the Rashi so as not to go too
deep.

The Lord is our God;
the Lord is one: The Lord, who is now our God and not the God of the other
nations-He will be [declared] in the future “the one God,” as it is said: “For
then I will convert the peoples to a pure language that all of them call in the
name of the Lord” (Zeph. 3:9), and it is [also] said: “On that day will the
Lord be one and His name one” (Zech. 14:9). (See Sifrei)

5And
thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and
with all thy might.

And you shall love
[the Lord]: Perform His commandments out of love. The one who acts out of love
cannot be compared to the one who acts out of fear. If one serves his master
out of fear, when the master sets a great burden upon him, this servant will
leave him and go away [whereas if out of love he will serve him even under
great burden] (Sifrei 6:5). With all your heart: Heb. בְּכָל-לְבָבְךָ
[The double “veth” in לְבָבְךָ, instead of the usual
form לִבְּךָ, suggests:] Love Him with your two
inclinations [the good and the evil]. (Sifrei; Ber. 54a) Another explanation;
“with all your heart,” is that your heart should not be divided [i.e., at
variance] with the Omnipresent (Sifrei). And with all your soul: Even if He
takes your soul (Sifrei; Ber. 54a, 61a). And with all your means: Heb. וּבְכָל-מְאֹדֶךָ, with all your possessions. There are
people whose possessions are more precious to them than their own bodies.
Therefore, it says, “and with all your means.” (Sifrei) Another explanation of וּבְכָל-מְאֹדֶךָ is: You shall love God with whatever
measure (מִדָּה) He metes out to you, whether it be the
measure of good or the measure of retribution. Thus also did David say: “I will
lift up the cup of salvations [and I will call upon the name of the Lord]” (Ps.
116:12-13); “I found trouble and grief [and I called out in the name of the
Lord]” (Ps. 116:3-4).

6And
these words, which I command thee this day, shall be upon thy heart;

And these words… shall
be: What is this “love” [referred to in the previous verse]? It is that these
words [the mitzvoth] shall be upon your heart, and through this, you will come
to recognize the Holy One, blessed be He, and will [consequently] cling to His
ways. (Sifrei 6:6) Which I command you this day: they should not appear to you
as an antiquated edict (דְּיוּטַגְמָא)
which no one cares about, but as a new one, which everyone hastens to read. The
word דְּיוּטַגְמָא means: a royal edict
which comes in writing.(Sifrei)

7and
thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when
thou sit in thy house, and when thou walk by the way, and when thou lie down,
and when thou rise up.

And you
will teach them: Heb. וְשִׁנַּנְתָּם. This is an expression of sharpness,
meaning that these words should be sharply impressed in your mouth, so that if
a person asks you something, you will not have to hesitate about it, but you
will tell him immediately. (Sifrei ; Kidd. 30a) To your sons: These are
your disciples. We find everywhere that disciples are termed “sons,” as it is
said: “You are children to the Lord your God” (Deut. 14:1), and it says: “The
disciples [lit. sons] of the prophets who were in Bethel” (II Kings 2:3). So too, we find that Hezekiah taught Torah to all Israel and
called them children, as it is said: “My sons, now do not forget” (II Chron.
29:11). And just as disciples are called “children,” as it is said “You are
children to the Lord your God” so too, the teacher is called “father,” as it is
said [that Elisha referred to his teacher Elijah by the words] “My father, my
father, the chariot of Israel…” (II Kings 2:12) (Sifrei 6:7). And speak
of them: That your principal topic
of conversation should be only about them; make them the main topic, not the
secondary one. (Sifrei) And when
you lie down: Now this
[latter verse] might lead one to think [that the obligation to recite the
“shema” is] even if one lies down in the middle of the day. Therefore it
states; “and when you rise up” ; now this [latter verse] might lead one to
think [that the obligation to recite the “shema” is] even if you arise in the
middle of the night! It says therefore, “When you sit in your house, and when
you walk on the way.” The Torah is thus speaking of the usual manner of
conduct: The [usual] time of lying down and the [usual] time of rising up.
(Sifrei)

8And
thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thy hand, and they shall be for frontlets
between thine eyes.

The Mitzvah to put on Tephillin
(only the Oral Torah tells how to make them and which Parshiyos to put inside
of them and how to sew them etc.):

And you shall bind
them for a sign upon your hand: These are the tefillin of the arm. And they
shall be for ornaments between your eyes: Heb. לְטֹטָפֹת.
These are the tefillin of the head, and because of the number of the Scriptural
sections contained in them [namely four], they are called טֹטָפֹת - totafoth, for טַט - tat in Coptic means
“two,” פַּת - path in Afriki (Phrygian) [also] means
“two.” (San. 4b)

9And
thou shalt write them upon the door-posts of thy house, and upon thy gates.

The doorposts of your
house: The word is מְזֻזוֹת [and not, מְזוּזוֹת, i.e., without the letter“vav”] to
indicate that there is need for only one מְזוּזָה
- mezuzah per door. And upon your gates: This [“gates”] is to include the gates
of courtyards, the gates of provinces, and the gates of cities [in that they
also require a mezuzah]. (Yoma 11a)

10And it shall be, when the LORD thy God
shall bring thee into the land which He swore unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to
Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee--great and goodly cities, which thou didst
not build,11and houses full of all good things,
which thou didst not fill, and cisterns hewn out, which thou didst not hew,
vineyards and olive-trees, which thou didst not plant, and thou shalt eat and
be satisfied—

Some of this occurred in 1948 when the Jews moved into
old Arab Houses in Ramla and Lod and vineyards and other fruit was there for
the new owners I can only imagine a more cultivated argricultural land which
the tribes occupied.

12then beware lest thou forget the LORD,
who brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.13Thou
shalt fear the LORD thy God; and Him shalt thou serve, and by His name shalt
thou swear.14Ye shall not go after other gods, of
the gods of the peoples that are round about you;15for
a jealous God, even the LORD thy God, is in the midst of thee; lest the anger
of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and He destroy thee from off the
face of the earth.

This warning is not only in the ancient times but I
have seen modern men drawn from Christianity and Reform Judaism to all sorts of
cults and religions from Krishna to Buddha, from séances to wiccan, from
burning incense and meditating with mantras and candles to all sorts of
nonsense not to mention even Satan worship. I can just imagine superstitious
ancients trying anything and everything if modern man with modern lighting,
science, statistics, etc. fall for these assorted cults and rubbish.

16Ye shall not try the LORD your God, as
ye tried Him in Massah.17Ye shall diligently keep the
commandments of the LORD your God, and His testimonies, and His statutes, which
He hath commanded thee.18And thou shalt do that which is right
and good in the sight of the LORD; that it may be well with thee, and that thou
may go in and possess the good land which the LORD swore unto thy fathers,19to
thrust out all thine enemies from before thee, as the LORD hath spoken.20When
thy son asks thee in time to come, saying: 'What mean the testimonies, and the
statutes, and the ordinances, which the LORD our God hath commanded you?21then
thou shalt say unto thy son: 'We were Pharaoh's bondmen in Egypt; and the LORD
brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand.22And the LORD showed signs and wonders,
great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his house, before our
eyes.23And He brought us out from thence,
that He might bring us in, to give us the land which He swore unto our fathers.24And
the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for
our good always, that He might preserve us alive, as it is at this day.25And
it shall be righteousness unto us, if we observe to do all this commandment
before the LORD our God, as He hath commanded us.

You want to live then do not play
games and observe the commandments.

7:1When
the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou got to possess it,
and shall cast out many nations before thee, the Hittite, and the Girgashite,
and the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the
Jebusite, seven nations greater and mightier than thou;

There can be a few
hundred million Arabs against a few million Jews in modern times and we win and
this was without a Moshe alive to guide us nor people who walked through the
sea as children or young adults and heard the commandments. Yet in modern times
just like ancient times, the L-RD fought for us.

2and
when the LORD thy God shall deliver them up before thee, and thou shalt smite
them; then thou shalt utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with
them, nor show mercy unto them;

Oops our modern
non-G-D fearing politicians did not carry this out and on the contrary during
the Six Day War did not let them flee eastwards over the Yarden. This would
have put an end to the so-called Palestinian Problem which never existed
prior to that war.

3neither
shalt thou make marriages with them: thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his
son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son.4For
he will turn away thy son from following Me, that they may serve other gods; so
will the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and He will destroy thee
quickly.5But thus shall ye deal with them: ye
shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars, and hew down
their Asherim, and burn their graven images with fire.6For
thou art a holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee
to be His own treasure, out of all peoples that are upon the face of the earth.7The
LORD did not set His love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in
number than any people--for ye were the fewest of all peoples--8but
because the LORD loved you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore
unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and
redeemed you out of the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of
Egypt.9Know therefore that the LORD thy God,
He is God; the faithful God, who keeps covenant and mercy with them that love
Him and keep His commandments to a thousand generations;10and
repays them that hate Him to their face, to destroy them; He will not be slack
to him that hates Him, He will repay him to his face.11Thou
shalt therefore keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the ordinances,
which I command thee this day, to do them.

Despite the fact we are a few against the many or
even against the whole world, we will succeed for the L-RD G-D CREATOR of all
is with us and they will try to make plans again and again in every generation
and HE will redeem us. [The foolish nations do not know that if they were to
destroy us completely, the world would not last and nobody would have to count
the days until the sun turns into a red giant in five billions years hence.]si

Parsha Eikev

The Parsha is a continuation of the Drasha of Moshe Rabbaynu.

7:12 And
it shall come to pass, because ye hearken to these ordinances, and keep, and do
them, that the LORD thy God shall keep with thee the covenant and the mercy
which He swore unto thy fathers, 13 and He will love thee, and bless thee, and
multiply thee; He will also bless the fruit of thy body and the fruit of thy
land, thy corn and thy wine and thine oil, the increase of thy cattle and the
young of thy flock, in the land which He swore unto thy fathers to give thee.
14 Thou shalt be blessed above all peoples; there shall not be male or female
barren among you, or among your cattle.

This is a great blessing and a big problem today with many
spinsters, confirmed old bachelors and thousands of barren couples some on the Life-Line List or
Shaul ben Rivka and his wife Michal Rachel bas Geula whom I pray for or others
who squeak through after many years like two families I know and the close to
sixty year olds with donated eggs.

15 And
the LORD will take away from thee all sickness; and He will put none of the
evil diseases of Egypt, which thou know, upon thee, but will lay them upon all
them that hate thee.

Another blessing I do not know of one family that has not experienced
a sick child.

16 And
thou shalt consume all the peoples that the LORD thy God shall deliver unto
thee; thine eye shall not pity them; neither shalt thou serve their gods; for
that will be a snare unto thee. 17 If thou shalt say in thy heart: 'These
nations are more than I; how can I dispossess them?' 18 thou shalt not be
afraid of them; thou shalt well remember what the LORD thy God did unto
Pharaoh, and unto all Egypt: 19 the great trials which thine eyes saw, and the
signs, and the wonders, and the mighty hand, and the outstretched arm, whereby
the LORD thy God brought thee out; so shall the LORD thy God do unto all the
peoples of whom thou art afraid. 20 Moreover the LORD thy God will send the
hornet among them, until they that are left, and they that hide themselves,
perish from before thee. 21 Thou shalt not be affrighted at them; for the LORD
thy God is in the midst of thee, a God great and awful.

I have seen a battle take place on the side of me while I
patrolled the border and was on back up rescue squad. The roar of the artillery
which shakes the ground and the tracer bullets and mortars in the night is enough
to get your adrenaline going. You know how many are on patrol and how many they
are or their weapons yet you do it because “The beginning of wisdom is the fear
of the L-RD” – Mishlei meaning we fear G-D but not man. This is the message of
these Pasukim.

22 And
the LORD thy God will cast out those nations before thee by little and little;
thou may not consume them quickly, lest the beasts of the field increase upon
thee. 23 But the LORD thy God shall deliver them up before thee, and shall
discomfit them with a great discomfiture, until they be destroyed.

BUT NOT IF YOUR POLITICIANS ARE AFRAID OF MAN AND LET THEM STAY.
Again and again we vote them back into office until the major parties become
like each other and run the country full gas in neutral. One has to be a glutton
for punishment for reelecting them time after time after time. Worse than that
often the alternative party has a bigger jerk or bigger crook. If we would only
follow the Torah HASHEM would consume the usurping Arabs by their leaving voluntarily
or some other reason.

24 And He
shall deliver their kings into thy hand, and thou shalt make their name to
perish from under heaven; there shall no man be able to stand against thee,
until thou have destroyed them. 25 The graven images of their gods shall ye
burn with fire; thou shalt not covet the silver or the gold that is on them,
nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein; for it is an abomination to
the LORD thy God. 26 And thou shalt not bring an abomination into thy house,
and be accursed like unto it; thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt
utterly abhor it; for it is a devoted thing.

The graven images does not apply to the Yishmael Religion but they
do not belong in this land.

8:1 All the
commandment which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may
live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD swore unto
your fathers. 2 And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God hath
led thee these forty years in the wilderness, that He might afflict thee, to
prove thee, to know what was in thy heart, whether thou would keep His
commandments, or no. 3 And He afflicted thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and
fed thee with manna, which thou knew not, neither did thy fathers know; that He
might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by everything
that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live. 4 Thy raiment waxed
not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years. 5 And thou
shalt consider in thy heart, that, as a man chastens his son, so the LORD thy
God chastens thee. 6 And thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God,
to walk in His ways, and to fear Him.

Can
you imagine wearing clothing 40 years and being still able to fit and in good
shape? This is precisely what happened for 40 years. It was good but now the
welfare State is over with and once again we must toil but not that hard for
the land is good with good fruit springing forth.

7 For the LORD
thy God brings thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains
and depths, springing forth in valleys and hills; 8 a land of wheat and barley,
and vines and fig-trees and pomegranates; a land of olive-trees and honey; 9 a
land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any
thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou may dig
brass. 10 And thou shalt eat and be satisfied, and bless the LORD thy God for
the good land which He hath given thee.

For
this simple blessing of plenty, all you have to do is to observe and guard the
613 Mitzvos.

11 Beware lest
thou forget the LORD thy God, in not keeping His commandments, and His
ordinances, and His statutes, which I command thee this day; 12 lest when thou
hast eaten and art satisfied, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein;
13 and when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is
multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; 14 then thy heart be lifted
up, and thou forget the LORD thy God, who brought thee forth out of the land of
Egypt, out of the house of bondage; 15 who led thee through the great and
dreadful wilderness, wherein were serpents, fiery serpents, and scorpions, and
thirsty ground where was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock
of flint; 16 who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew
not, that He might afflict thee, and that He might prove thee, to do thee good
at thy latter end; 17 and thou say in thy heart: 'My power and the might of my
hand hath gotten me this wealth.' 18 But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God,
for it is He that giveth thee power to get wealth, that He may establish His
covenant which He swore unto thy fathers, as it is this day.

However
if one be complacent regarding the Mitzvos then:

19 And it shall be, if thou shalt forget the LORD thy God, and walk
after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I forewarn you this day
that ye shall surely perish. 20 As the nations that the LORD makes to perish
before you, so shall ye perish; because ye would not hearken unto the voice of
the LORD your God.

This will happen to you if you do not meet and try to
exceed in observing all 613 Commandments.

9:1 Hear,
O Israel: thou art to pass over the Jordan this day, to go in to dispossess
nations greater and mightier than thyself, cities great and fortified up to
heaven, 2 a people great and tall, the sons of the Anakim, whom thou know, and
of whom thou hast heard say: 'Who can stand before the sons of Anak?' 3 Know
therefore this day, that the LORD thy God is He who goes over before thee as a
devouring fire; He will destroy them, and He will bring them down before thee;
so shalt thou drive them out, and make them to perish quickly, as the LORD hath
spoken unto thee. 4 Speak not thou in thy heart, after that the LORD thy God
hath thrust them out from before thee, saying: 'For my righteousness the LORD
hath brought me in to possess this land'; whereas for the wickedness of these
nations the LORD doth drive them out from before thee. 5 Not for thy
righteousness, or for the uprightness of thy heart, dost thou go in to possess
their land; but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD thy God doth drive
them out from before thee, and that He may establish the word which the LORD
swore unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. 6 Know therefore
that it is not for thy righteousness that the LORD thy God giveth thee this
good land to possess it; for thou art a stiffnecked people.

You are not going to possess the land because of your
righteousness but because of Avraham, Yitzchak and Yacov and MY promise to
them.

7
Remember, forget thou not, how thou didst make the LORD thy God wroth in the
wilderness; from the day that thou didst go forth out of the land of Egypt,
until ye came unto this place, ye have been rebellious against the LORD. 8 Also
in Horev ye made the LORD wroth, and the LORD was angered with you to have
destroyed you. 9 When I was gone up into the mount to receive the tables of
stone, even the tables of the covenant which the LORD made with you, then I
abode in the mount forty days and forty nights; I did neither eat bread nor
drink water. 10 And the LORD delivered unto me the two tables of stone written
with the finger of God; and on them was written according to all the words,
which the LORD spoke with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the
day of the assembly. 11 And it came to pass at the end of forty days and forty
nights, that the LORD gave me the two tables of stone, even the tables of the
covenant. 12 And the LORD said unto me: 'Arise, get thee down quickly from
hence; for thy people that thou hast brought forth out of Egypt have dealt
corruptly; they are quickly turned aside out of the way which I commanded them;
they have made them a molten image.' 13 Furthermore the LORD spoke unto me,
saying: 'I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people; 14
let ME alone, that I may destroy them, and blot out their name from under
heaven; and I will make of thee a nation mightier and greater than they.' 15 So
I turned and came down from the mount, and the mount burned with fire; and the
two tables of the covenant were in my two hands. 16 And I looked, and, behold, ye
had sinned against the LORD your God; ye had made you a molten calf; ye had
turned aside quickly out of the way which the LORD had commanded you. 17 And I
took hold of the two tables, and cast them out of my two hands, and broke them
before your eyes. 18 And I fell down before the LORD, as at the first, forty
days and forty nights; I did neither eat bread nor drink water; because of all
your sin which ye sinned, in doing that which was evil in the sight of the
LORD, to provoke Him. 19 For I was in dread of the anger and hot displeasure,
wherewith the LORD was wroth against you to destroy you. But the LORD hearkened
unto me that time also. 20 Moreover the LORD was very angry with Aaron to have
destroyed him; and I prayed for Aaron also the same time. 21 And I took your
sin, the calf which ye had made, and burnt it with fire, and beat it in pieces,
grinding it very small, until it was as fine as dust; and I cast the dust
thereof into the brook that descended out of the mount.—

Again an admonishment. One day you hear the voice of G-D telling
you not to make images and within six weeks there you go because of your
stiffnecked attitude towards following the path of the just or the ways righteous.
It was only my repentance at the gates of heaven that kept you from being
destroyed. So my advice today is follow the path and ways that I have set
before you.

22 And at
Taberah, and at Massah, and at Kibroth-hattaavah, ye made the LORD wroth. 23
And when the LORD sent you from Kadesh-barnea, saying: 'Go up and possess the
land which I have given you'; then ye rebelled against the commandment of the
LORD your God, and ye believed Him not, nor hearkened to His voice. 24 Ye have
been rebellious against the LORD from the day that I knew you.-- 25 So I fell
down before the LORD the forty days and forty nights that I fell down; because
the LORD had said He would destroy you. 26 And I prayed unto the LORD, and
said: 'O Lord GOD, destroy not Thy people and Thine inheritance, that Thou hast
redeemed through Thy greatness, that Thou hast brought forth out of Egypt with
a mighty hand. 27 Remember Thy servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; look not
unto the stubbornness of this people, nor to their wickedness, nor to their
sin; 28 lest the land whence Thou brought us out say: Because the LORD was not
able to bring them into the land which He promised unto them, and because He
hated them, He hath brought them out to slay them in the wilderness. 29 Yet
they are Thy people and Thine inheritance, that Thou didst bring out by Thy
great power and by Thy outstretched arm.'

More Mussar from Moshe of past sins and errors and to learn from
past so that the history is not repeated again.

10:1 At that time the LORD said unto me: 'Hew thee two tables of
stone like unto the first, and come up unto Me into the mount; and make thee an
ark of wood. 2 And I will write on the tables the words that were on the first
tables which thou didst break, and thou shalt put them in the ark.' 3 So I made
an ark of acacia-wood, and hewed two tables of stone like unto the first, and
went up into the mount, having the two tables in my hand. 4 And He wrote on the
tables according to the first writing, the ten words, which the LORD spoke unto
you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly; and
the LORD gave them unto me. 5 And I turned and came down from the mount, and
put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they are, as the LORD
commanded me.-- 6 And the children of Israel journeyed from Beeroth-benejaakan
to Moserah; there Aaron died, and there he was buried; and Eleazar his son
ministered in the priest's office in his stead. 7 From thence they journeyed
unto Gudgod; and from Gudgod to Jotbah, a land of brooks of water.—

And from Gudgodah [to
Yotvath…]: And at Moserah, you made a great mourning for the death of Aaron,
which was the cause of this [your retreat], and it seemed to you as though he
had died there (Yerushalmi Sotah 1:10, Tanchuma, Chukath 18). Moses juxtaposed
this reproof with the breaking of the tablets to indicate that the death of the
righteous is as grievous to the Holy One, blessed is He, as the day the tablets
were broken (Lev. Rabbah 2)], and to inform you that when they said, “Let us appoint
a leader [and return to Egypt]” (Num. 14:4)-and divorce ourselves from him
[Moses], was as grievous for him as was the day on which they made the golden
calf.

8 At that time the LORD separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the
ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to minister unto Him,
and to bless in His name, unto this day. 9 Wherefore Levi hath no portion nor
inheritance with his brethren; the LORD is his inheritance, according as the
LORD thy God spoke unto him.-- 10 Now I stayed in the mount, as at the first
time, forty days and forty nights; and the LORD hearkened unto me that time
also; the LORD would not destroy thee. 11 And the LORD said unto me: 'Arise, go
before the people, causing them to set forward, that they may go in and possess
the land, which I swore unto their fathers to give unto them.'

This is more Mussar and why the Leviim are blessed.

12 And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but
to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to
serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul;

And now, O Israel: Even though you did all this, His mercy and
His affection are still upon you, and with all that you have sinned against
Him, He demands nothing of you, except only to fear [the Lord, your God,…] Only
to fear [the Lord your God,…]: Our Rabbis derived from this verse [“And now…
what does… God demand of you”] that everything is in the hands of Heaven except
the fear of Heaven (Ber. 33b).

13 to keep for thy good the commandments of the LORD, and His
statutes, which I command thee this day? 14 Behold, unto the LORD thy God
belongs the heaven, and the heaven of heavens, the earth, with all that therein
is. 15 Only the LORD had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and He chose
their seed after them, even you, above all peoples, as it is this day. 16
Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked. 17
For the LORD your God, He is God of gods, and Lord of lords, the great God, the
mighty, and the awful, who regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward. 18 He doth
execute justice for the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving
him food and raiment. 19 Love ye therefore the stranger; for ye were strangers
in the land of Egypt. 20 Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; Him shalt thou
serve; and to Him shalt thou cleave, and by His name shalt thou swear. 21 He is
thy glory, and He is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and
tremendous things, which thine eyes have seen. 22 Thy fathers went down into
Egypt with threescore and ten persons; and now the LORD thy God hath made thee
as the stars of heaven for multitude.

11:1
Therefore thou shalt love the LORD thy God, and keep His charge, and His
statutes, and His ordinances, and His commandments, alway. 2 And know ye this
day; for I speak not with your children that have not known, and that have not
seen the chastisement of the LORD your God, His greatness, His mighty hand, and
His outstretched arm, 3 and His signs, and His works, which He did in the midst
of Egypt unto Pharaoh the king of Egypt, and unto all his land; 4 and what He
did unto the army of Egypt, unto their horses, and to their chariots; how He
made the water of the Red Sea to overflow them as they pursued after you, and
how the LORD hath destroyed them unto this day; 5 and what He did unto you in
the wilderness, until ye came unto this place; 6 and what He did unto Dathan
and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben; how the earth opened her
mouth, and swallowed them up, and their households, and their tents, and every
living substance that followed them, in the midst of all Israel; 7 but your
eyes have seen all the great work of the LORD which He did. 8 Therefore shall
ye keep all the commandment which I command thee this day, that ye may be
strong, and go in and possess the land, whither ye go over to possess it; 9 and
that ye may prolong your days upon the land, which the LORD swore unto your
fathers to give unto them and to their seed, a land flowing with milk and
honey.

This is a land flowing with milk and honey again a reminder but
you must observe the Mitzvos to hang on to it.

10 For
the land, whither thou go in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from
whence ye came out, where thou didst sow thy seed, and didst water it with thy
foot, as a garden of herbs; 11 but the land, whither ye go over to possess it,
is a land of hills and valleys, and drinks water as the rain of heaven comes
down; 12 a land which the LORD thy God cares for; the eyes of the LORD thy God
are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the
year.

G-D cares do you? Now below is the second paragraph of the Shema.

13 And it
shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto My commandments which I
command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve Him with all your
heart and with all your soul,

And it will be, if you hearken: [The word] וְהָיָה is referring to what is said above (verse 11):“and absorbs
water from the rains of heaven” And it will be, if you hearken: Heb. וְהָיָה אִם שָׁמֹעַ תִּשְׁמְעוּ lit., And it will be,
if hearkening you will hearken. If you hearken to the old [i.e., if you study
what you have already learned], you will hearken to the new [i.e., you will
have a new and deeper understanding]. Similar is [the meaning of]“And it will
be, if you forget” (אִם שָׁכֹחַ תִּשְׁכַּח)
(Deut. 8:19): If you have begun to forget [the Torah you have learned],
eventually you will forget all of it, for so it is written in the Megillah 1:
“If you leave Me for one day, I will leave you for two days.” - [Sifrei on
Deut. 11:22, Yerushalmi Ber. 9:5, Midrash Shmuel 1] Command you this day: [“this
day” suggests] that [the commandments] should [always] be to you as new, as
though you had just heard them on this very day. — [Sifrei , 11:32] To love the
Lord: You should not say: “I will learn in order to become rich,” [or] “in
order to be referred to as ‘Rabbi,’” [or] “in order that I receive a reward.”
Rather, whatever you do, do out of love [for God], and ultimately, the honor
will come.- [Sifrei] And to serve Him with all your heart: i.e. with a service
of the heart, and that is prayer, for prayer is called service, as it is said,
“your God, Whom you serve regularly” (Dan. 6:17). But was there a [Temple]
service in Babylon? Rather, [the term service is used] because he prayed, as it
is said, “where there were open windows [in his upper chamber opposite
Jerusalem, and three times a day he kneeled on his knees and prayed…]” (Dan.
6:11). And so, too, it states regarding David, “My prayer shall be established
like incense before You” (Ps. 141:2). - [Sifrei] [To love the Lord…] with all
your heart, and with all your soul: But did he not already admonish us, [by the
words]“[And you shall love the Lord, your God,] with all your heart and with
all your soul” (Deut. 6:5)? [That, however, was] an admonition addressed for
the individual, [while this is] an admonition to the community. — [Sifrei]

14 that I
will give the rain of your land in its season, the former rain and the latter
rain, that thou may gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil. 15 And I
will give grass in thy fields for thy cattle, and thou shalt eat and be
satisfied. 16 Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and ye turn
aside, and serve other gods, and worship them; 17 and the anger of the LORD be
kindled against you, and He shut up the heaven, so that there shall be no rain,
and the ground shall not yield her fruit; and ye perish quickly from off the
good land which the LORD giveth you. 18 Therefore shall ye lay up these My
words in your heart and in your soul; and ye shall bind them for a sign upon
your hand, and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes. 19 And ye shall
teach them your children, talking of them, when thou sittest in thy house, and
when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liet down, and when thou rise up.

From the morning to the night you shall educate your children to
be a Mensch through the Mitzvos.

[And you shall teach
them to your sons,] to speak with them: From the moment your son knows how to
speak, teach him, “Moses commanded us the Torah” (Deut. 33:4). Let him learn
speech through this (Sukkah 42a). From this, our Rabbis taught: When the infant
begins to talk, his father should speak to him in the Holy Tongue, and should
teach him the Torah. If he does not do this, it is as though he buries him, as
it is stated [here], “And you shall teach them to your sons to speak with
them…” [in order that your days may increase, and the days of your children].

20 And
thou shalt write them upon the door-posts of thy house, and upon thy gates; 21
that your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, upon the land
which the LORD swore unto your fathers to give them, as the days of the heavens
above the earth. 22 For if ye shall diligently keep all this commandment which
I command you, to do it, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways,
and to cleave unto Him, 23 then will the LORD drive out all these nations from
before you, and ye shall dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourselves.
24 Every place whereon the sole of your foot shall tread shall be yours: from
the wilderness, and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even unto the
hinder sea shall be your border. 25 There shall no man be able to stand against
you: the LORD your God shall lay the fear of you and the dread of you upon all
the land that ye shall tread upon, as He hath spoken unto you.

We never had up to the Euphrates except for a brief period of
Shlomo HaMelech but it never became holy. This is for the future when the
Moshiach comes.

The pious and well-known
scholar, Rabbi Moshe Galante of Tsfat (Safed), heard an account from his
brother about the extraordinary holiness of Rabbi Yitzchak Luria (the ARI), the
foremost Kabbalist of the generation. He decided to seek his advice. Perhaps
the Ari could help him to further perfect himself, he thought excitedly.

"Frankly, I never
thought before that you were anyone special, but now that I have heard
differently, I have come to request of you a tikun [rectification] for
my soul.

"Why ask me?"
asked the ARI, modestly, "I am not a prophet."

After several further
rounds of request and denial, R. Galante pleaded: "It is stated that you
have the power to discern the root of a person's soul and his previous
incarnations, but I am not asking for that. I just want to know what have I
done that requires rectification from the day my soul was born into this body
until now, so that I will not have to undergo any further reincarnations. I
know you can see such things on a person's forehead; please read mine!"

At this impassioned plea,
the ARI gazed intently at R. Moshe for a moment and murmured, "borderline
theft." Instantly, R. Galante jumped up and ran off, not even saying
goodbye. As soon as he reached his home he stripped off his clothes and donned
sackcloth and ashes. Throwing himself to the ground, he cried out to G-d,
weeping and slapping himself the entire time. Finally, he sent for all the
employees of his textile business and demanded that if anyone felt that he or
she had been shortchanged or paid unfairly in any way, to please present a
claim now, even for the tiniest amount. When they all denied any
wrongdoing on his part, R. Galante exclaimed: "What are you doing to me!
Don't you see what condition I am in? The ARI has said that I am guilty of
borderline theft."

He then spread out a large
amount of money before them and said: "Each of you take however much you
wish. If I owe you anything, then the debt is cancelled; if not, it is a
present." Even then no one responded, until finally one woman stepped
forward and took a small sum.

R. Galante then hurried
back to the ARI, who assured him that his forehead no longer revealed any trace
of sin. He went on to explain that the woman who had taken the money did a
delicate kind of weaving, and it could be considered that she deserved a
slightly higher wage than the other workers.

Needless to say, after this
episode R. Galante always acted towards the ARI with the greatest of respect.

[Translated and freely
adapted by Yrachmiel Tilles from Shivchei HaAri. You may distribute this e-mail as long as full
attribution is given, including Ascent's email and internet addresses, as in
the heading.]

Biographical notes:
Rabbi Yitzchak Luria (the Holy Ari), 1534-1572, was the most influential
Kabbalist since Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai 1800 years ago. Much of Chassidic
thought is based on the Ari's teachings, as recorded by his main disciple,
Rabbi Chaim Vital.

Rabbi Moshe Galante
[1540-1614] was one of four (along with Rabbi Yosef Caro, author of Shulchan
Aruch) to receive semicha from Rabbi Yaakov Beirav in the 'renewal of
semicha' controversy. He and his brother Avraham (1540-1588), who subsequently
became the city's chief rabbi, lived in Tsfat in the 1500's.